Meet Our State Officer Alumni
2021-2022 Team
Arthur Khamkhosy – President
Arthur Khamkhosy, an incoming senior and four year DECA member attending Clackamas High School and Sabin-Schellenberg Technical Center, is eager to serve as Oregon DECA’s State President. This is Arthur’s second term as State President and third term as an Association Officer. DECA has been an integral part of Arthur’s life ever since he was in middle school. As a young seventh grader, Arthur attended his first SCDC, cheering on his older sister at the Grand Awards Session. Ever since then, DECA has made a home in Arthur’s heart as an organization
that continues to foster education, relationships, and memories.
Outside of DECA, Arthur indulges in music and photography. Arthur is a member of three different choirs: Clackamas High School’s A-Choir, Portland’s Singing Christmas Tree, and Pacific Youth Choir. Arthur also finds pleasure in portrait and landscape photography, which takes him traveling around the world. In the future, Arthur hopes to pursue a career in finance or economics, with the prospect of becoming a professor in one of the two subjects.
Arthur’s favorite DECA event to compete in is the Professional Selling Event, where he placed first overall at the 2021 SCDC. Through the many conferences that DECA offers, Arthur believes that DECA provides a valuable opportunity for students to get a head-start in their careers, build life-long relationships with peers and industry professionals, and unleash their inner-potential. Arthur is honored to be re-elected as Oregon DECA’s State president and is ecstatic to take this organization to new heights!
Suhani Goyal – Vice President of Leadership
Suhani Goyal is a Senior serving as the Chapter Administrative Assistant at Westview High School and Oregon DECA’s Vice President of Leadership.
As a passionate speaker who was inclined in developing her skills to become a future businesswoman, Suhani signed up for DECA her freshman year. As an incoming four-year DECA member, she knows the ample knowledge and growth opportunities the Organization provides to its students. Apart from being a DECA leader, Suhani has also actively competed at both the State and International levels in various events such as Quick Serve Restaurant Management, Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling Event, and Human Resources Management.
She immigrated from India as a second-grader and has been in Oregon since then. Outside of DECA, Suhani is a Student Lab Leader for Speech and Debate, the Vice President for her school’s Model United Nations club, and is on the Tennis Varsity team. Suhani also enjoys running and hopes to participate in New York’s 2022/23 Marathon. Due to her love for food, she enjoys cooking and discovering new exotic recipes with her family. Suhani places an emphasis on teamwork and integrity, and is someone who is passionate about providing equal opportunities to everyone. She looks forward to employing her skills in this leadership position and to work alongside her peers to help them reach their next level.
Malaika Shah – Vice President of Marketing
For the 2021-2022 DECA year, Oregon DECA’s VP of Marketing is Malaika Shah, who will be a senior this fall at Sunset High School. This DECA 20-21 year is Malaika’s second year in the organization. Malaika joined DECA to gain exposure to business and finance, and at SCDC 2020, she fell in love with these subjects and DECA. This positive experience inspired Malaika to take many business classes at Sunset the next year, start an investment club at Sunset, and adopt a leadership position in the Sunset DECA chapter.
As the Vice President of Marketing, Malaika aims to streamline communication and distribution of information, in order to emphasize all of the opportunities DECA provides to members. Her largest goal is to grow Oregon DECA by increasing promotional measures and supporting Chapters more.
Outside of DECA, Malaika enjoys spending time with her friends and family. Malaika is an avid movie-goer who often watches movies with her family on weekends. She especially enjoys 90s films. Malaika also enjoys going on long bike rides with her friends or brother. Recently, she has been biking on many nearby trails; she enjoys the fresh air and freedom biking provides.
Though the future is uncertain, Malaika is looking forward to upcoming opportunities, such as attending college. Malaika aims to attend college and study finance and math, but she would also value the opportunity to be part of a startup. Malaika is excited to work with Oregon DECA to serve the members, and is looking forward to a – hopefully – in-person SCDC 2022!
Eli Leadham – Vice President of Career Development
Eli Leadham is an incoming senior, serving for the second year in a row as the DECA Chapter President at Sam Barlow High School. For Oregon DECA they are the Vice President of Career Development.
Originally Eli’s first steps in high school were in Speech and Debate competing at nationally ranked tournaments and achieving national success. In their sophomore year they took a marketing class and were introduced to their school’s recently founded DECA chapter. That same year Eli competed in Human Resources Management and Principles of Marketing at SCDC, placing third in both Roleplays. With the competitive success found at SCDC Eli then spearheaded the expansion of their chapter by taking leadership positions and networking with other Oregon DECA chapters to get Sam Barlow DECA known.
Outside of DECA, Eli is an avid user of spotify curating playlists for every occasion. They have discovered their green thumb over quarantine and have a copious amount of indoor plants. Alongside DECA Eli occupies the following leadership positions: President of Speech and Debate Club, Co-President of National Honor Society, Vice President of Key Club, and President of GSA. With Eli’s large experience and portable skills gained from DECA and Debate organizing complicated issues into easily presentable information, they plan to attend college interested in Legal Studies and Sociology.
One of Eli’s favorite parts of DECA is that it extends outside the competition, it should influence how you think and act inside and outside the organization. The name of the game is integrity, you can win and lose some competitions, but your morals and ideas will always speak for themselves. As the Vice President of Career Development, Eli aims to increase the overall preparation, participation, and performance among chapters, with emphasis on smaller chapters striving to achieve national success.
Abby Weber – Vice President of Hospitality
Abby Weber, an incoming Junior at Blanchet Catholic High School, is very excited to serve as the 2021-2022 OR DECA State Officer Team’s Vice President of Hospitality.
She joined DECA at Blanchet her freshman year and has been passionate about it since then. At SCDC she placed 4th overall in the Principles of Hospitality and Tourism event her freshman year and 2nd overall for the Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series her sophomore year. Her goals for while she is in term are to help all new and returning members feel welcome and happy to be a part of the DECA community.
Abby is a very involved member in a number of clubs and sports teams at Blanchet, and feels honored to be made a part of the DECA family as well. She participates in Varsity Basketball, Volleyball, and Softball at Blanchet, as well as Speech and Debate and Girl Scouts. She hopes to study Sports Medicine or Human Physiology in college and then earn her Doctors of Physical Therapy after that. Her dream job is to own her own physical therapy clinic or to be an athletic trainer for a collegiate sports program.
A quote that Abby likes a lot is from Albert Schweitzer. He says, “If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” She plans to implement this quote in her daily life at home, in school, on sports teams, and at DECA.
Aaron Li – Vice President of Finance
Aaron Li, hailing from Portland, Oregon, is a three-year DECA member and is beyond excited to serve as the next Oregon DECA Vice President of Finance. His love for DECA began with coming to meetings for frosted cookies, but he stayed for the holistic, invigorating experience DECA provides. In the past three years that Aaron has been a DECA member, he has won DECA glass each year. He particularly enjoys the Entrepreneurship Series and Business Finance Series. As Vice President of Finance, Aaron hopes to make events more accessible to members and provide additional opportunities to network and grow. Throughout high school, Aaron has had the opportunity to start his own nonprofit, Project Lotus, where he works to destigmatize mental health in Asian American communities by directly connecting with community members.He also interns at StoveTeam International and helps local entrepreneurs in Latin America support their communities through clean cooking. From DECA and these experiences, Aaron believes the best part of business is its capacity to change the human experience. In the future, Aaron hopes to start his own business and would like to provide innovative products to communities from emerging markets. Outside of school and extracurricular activities, Aaron goes for a walk and works out every day. On the weekends, Aaron likes to play soccer with his friends and is an aspiring snowboarder. If you ever have the chance to talk to him, there is a 95% chance he’ll talk about how he can go on Blues now.
2020-2021 Team
2019-2020 Team
Kit Lance
South Medford High School
State President
Serving as President as an incoming senior at South Medford High, located in southern Oregon, Kit Lance is looking forward to representing Oregon DECA as a state officer for a second term. Kit has been a part of the organization for three years now and has had the privilege to experience many of the events that DECA has to offer and meet a myriad of its brilliant members. Before her time as an officer, she served as her DECA chapter’s Vice President of Career Development and her SkillsUSA chapter’s Vice President and Social Media manager for the duration of her sophomore year.
Alongside DECA, Kit is a competitive rower for Rogue Rowing and a member of the National Honor Society. Kit goes out of her way to take challenging AP and Honors courses each year and maintains an accumulative, unweighted 4.0 GPA. She is looking towards attending a four year university and plans to major in pre-medical in order to eventually become a surgeon. For Kit, DECA has been and continues to be an incredible resource for meeting people, gaining powerful leadership and speaking skills, and expanding her professional view. She wants all students to be aware of and have access to this invaluable organization and is therefore honored to represent it through her position in state office.
Jerrihaun Robinson
South Medford High School
Vice President of Leadership
Jerrihaun Robinson serves as the 2019-2020 Oregon DECA Vice President of Leadership as a senior from South Medford High School. Having dedicated to the organization in his junior year, Jerrihaun was enticed by the prospect of enhancing his speaking and business related skills. Over the course of his time in DECA, Jerrihaun has met a vast multitude of exceptional DECA members and become exceptionally passionate about the organization and its mission.
Alongside DECA, Jerrihaun is very active in both his school and community. He is a veteran actor, speaker, debater, and singer, and has held the position of class president of the class of 2020. Within his community, Jerrihaun has worked with Compassion Highway and the Black Student Union in order to better the conditions of his community. Jerrihaun plans to attend a state school and graduate with honors before attending a graduate school in order to attain a PhD in law or political science. After finishing his higher education, Jerrihaun intends to pursue a career in national or international politics. Along the way or upon retirement, Jerrihaun also hopes to start a company, write novels, and create art. DECA has brought out the best in Jerrihaun and taught him innumerable ways to improve his professional skills. He views the organization with utmost admiration and respect, and acknowledges its importance in preparing the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, and business oriented individuals.
Mitul Patel
Henley High School
Vice President of Marketing
Mitul is from Henley High School in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and he is currently a junior in high school. Mitul is excited to be serving as Oregon DECA’s VP of Marketing. Mitul joined DECA his freshman year, being a part of Henley DECA. He joined DECA because of his brother Dhru Patel, luckily he got to see his brother serve as an Oregon DECA State Officer. Mitul says “DECA has it all you get to meet people, make amazing friends, learn valuable qualities, I got to see my brother Dhru Patel speak on so many stages, and make so many amazing friends that ever since freshman year I wanted to run to be a State Officer and one of my dreams have come true. I can’t wait to meet new people, build an amazing relationship, and I can’t wait to serve Oregon DECA”.
Mitul Patel has attended 2 Western Region Leadership Conferences (WRLC) and has been to 2 International Career Development Conferences (ICDC). His first time at ICDC he ran his brother’s booth while his brother Dhru Patel was running for DECA National President. During this experience Mitul met smart people with amazing personalities, he fell even more in love with DECA through this experience of a lifetime. In addition to DECA, Mitul participates in Engineering Club and HOSA. Mitul wants to go into the field of business so he focuses more on DECA because he feels like it will help prepare him in the future because he wants to get a degree and job in Mergers and Acquisitions, he is planning to go to Oregon State University. A fun fact about Mitul Patel is since the age of only 11 he has been a desk clerk at one of his father’s motels. Mitul’s father thought it would be great for him to learn and know how to operate a hotel at a young age. He says it’s something unique about him and he’s thankful for getting the opportunity from his father. Mitul is so excited to be your Vice President of Marketing.
Arthur Khamkhosy
Clackamas High School
Vice President of Finance
Arthur Khamkhosy, an incoming sophomore attending Clackamas High School and Sabin-Schellenberg Technical Center, is eager to serve as VP of Finance for Oregon DECA. Arthur’s sister and current VP of Hospitality, Vanisa, inspired him to join DECA. Ever since Vanisa’s first SCDC in 2017, Arthur has supported his sister by judging her practice roleplays, attending chapter meetings, and watching the SCDC grand award ceremonies. Although Arthur has only been a DECA member for one year, his experiences in DECA have taught him life lessons that he will never forget: the importance of organization and time management, the thrill of competition, and the beauty of friendships. Outside of DECA, Arthur also plays the piano and sings in choir.
In 2018, he and his sister performed a piano duet at an OMTA state-wide showcase. Arthur was also a participant of ACDA’s 2018 All-Northwest Choir and OMEA’s 2019 All-State Choir. Arthur loves helping others and is an active member of Key Club. Being in Calculus his freshman year, Arthur grew a fondness to numbers and its application to business and finance. Arthur hopes to pursue a career in mathematics and teaching, to eventually become a math professor at a university. Arthur wants DECA to be accessible to anyone who has the interest and urge to compete at Oregon SCDC. He believes the knowledge and experience DECA has to offer is priceless and that everyone should have the opportunity to join DECA. Arthur is honored to be Oregon DECA’s VP of Finance and is eager to begin linking great minds to great opportunities!
Vanisa Khamkhosy
Clackamas High School
Vice President of Hospitality
As a member of Sabin-Schellenberg DECA and an incoming senior at Clackamas High School, Vanisa Khamkhosy is thrilled to be able to serve Oregon DECA as the 2019-2020 VP of Hospitality. Vanisa has been a DECA member since her freshman year, and has since reigned as state champion in various tracks of Virtual Business Challenges, with eight VBC plaques so far. In 2017, she attended ICDC in Anaheim for Elevate. Vanisa placed 4th overall in AAM at SCDC 2018, and competed in SBE at ICDC in Atlanta. She currently serves as her chapter’s VP of Fundraising. In addition to DECA, Vanisa sings in both varsity choirs at Clackamas, is currently the A-Choir’s Soprano Section Leader, and is a part of Portland’s Singing Christmas Tree.
Vanisa holds active memberships in National Honor Society, Key Club, Math Honor Society, and Asian Student Union. Additionally, she has been taking piano lessons since the age of three, and is a rehearsal accompanist for Reedwood Friends Church. Vanisa plans to pursue a double major in Marketing and Management at a 4-year university, with a potential Vocal Performance minor. She aspires to someday receive her MBA, start her own business, and perform her original songs internationally. Vanisa believes DECA to be the pinnacle of her high school experience, saying that “There is no other organization that can encourage personal growth, teach a vast amount of professional skills, and allow for interpersonal connections the way that DECA does. DECA prepares you for the future, no matter which career you wish to pursue. This organization will ultimately change you for the better.”
Kannah Greer
Klamath Union High School
Vice President of Career Development
Kannah Greer will be a senior at Klamath Union High School this coming fall and is currently the Oregon DECA Vice President of Career Development. Although she has only been to SCDC twice, this is her third year in DECA and second year attending ICDC. As a DECA member, she has been awarded a series of accomplishments, both chapter and individual. Klamath Union DECA was recognized as Chapter of the Year two years in a row, once which she assisted with. She has also received numerous test medals, and was also awarded First Place overall in Hospitality Services Team Decision Making.
Kannah Greer also received Third Place in Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research, where she conducted a thorough research project on Dutch Bros. Coffee, which she currently works at. Throughout Kannah’s years as a DECA member, she has furthered her chapter to new heights by increasing membership, completing a tremendous amount of community service, and implementing new Klamath Union DECA traditions. In the future, Kannah hopes to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, where she plans to major in Aeronautical Engineering and minor in Business. One of her career and all-time life goals is to go to Space at least once. Kannah is a firm believer in the idea that DECA is not a club, but a family; and every member has a story that deserves to be told.
2018-2019 Team
Nikhil Namburi
Blanchet Catholic School
State President
Attending Blanchet Catholic School in Salem, Nikhil Namburi is honored to serve as the Oregon DECA State President during his senior year of high school. Nikhil joined Blanchet’s DECA chapter during his freshman year, enticed by the prospect of competing in the Sports and Entertainment Marketing events. In his freshman year, he qualified for ICDC in the Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series Event, placing 6th overall at the international competition. Inspired by this early achievement, Nikhil joined Blanchet’s leadership team, serving as the Head of Recruiting during his sophomore year and the chapter’s Vice President during his junior year. During that time, Nikhil triple-qualified for ICDC in both his sophomore and junior year, competing in the Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making and Series events, respectively.
In addition to DECA, Nikhil actively participates in Student Council, Science Olympiad, Friends of Benedictine, Speech and Debate and Leadership Youth of Salem. He has also played for Blanchet’s basketball program and its Varsity golf team since his freshman year. Nikhil is most proud of his work for Students for Change, an independently-run student-based community service club that engages in pressing issues of the community. Nikhil hopes to major in computer science and pursue a career in Artificial Intelligence Research & Development but is open to exploring other career paths.
Nikhil truly appreciates the transformative power of DECA on student experiences. “Regardless of your experience or knowledge entering the organization, DECA allows for a student to develop skills that are integral to professional environments.”
Maya Bedge
Westview High School
Vice President of Public Relations
Maya Bedge is a senior at Westview High School and is ecstatic to serve the Oregon DECA community as this year’s Vice President of Public Relations. Having been involved with DECA for the past three years, Maya fell in love with the competition and unique network of students involved in this organization. In 2017, she was a double qualifier to ICDC and placed in the top ten in her event in Anaheim. In 2018, she qualified to ICDC in Atlanta for HLM. While still undecided about her college plans, Maya would like to pursue a double major in economics and engineering, with a minor in harp performance. Eventually, she plans to run for public office or work at the United Nations to serve her country and make tangible changes to progress towards a more equitable society.
“DECA provides incredible opportunities to Oregon high school students to network and refine their business skills. If you have the chance to compete and participate in DECA, dive in head first and commit entirely to every role-play, written event, and test.”
Kit Lance
South Medford High School
Vice President of Communications
Serving as Vice President of Communications as an incoming junior at South Medford High, located in southern Oregon, Kit Lance is looking forward to representing Oregon DECA as a state officer for the 2018-2019 term. Kit has been a part of the organization for two years now and has had the privilege to experience many of the events that DECA has to offer and meet a myriad of its brilliant members. Before her time as an officer, she served as her chapter’s Vice President of Career Development for the duration of her sophomore year.
Alongside DECA, Kit is involved in many sports and other extracurriculars. She is the Vice President and Social Media manager of South Medford’s SkillsUSA chapter and an intern leader for a local science museum where she helps run camps for 1st-5th graders. Kit is also an active member of the National Honors Society. For sports, she is on varsity for swim team, track and field, water polo (which she is team captain of), and does boxing outside of school. She is looking towards attending a four year university and plans to major in pre-medical in order to eventually become a surgeon. For Kit, DECA has been and continues to be an incredible resource for meeting people, gaining powerful leadership skills, and expanding her professional view. She wants all students to be aware of and have access to this invaluable organization and is therefore honored to represent it through her position in state office.
Sehajvir Singh
Westview High School
District I Vice President
Sehajvir Singh, an incoming senior at Westview High School, is excited to be serving as the District 1 VP for Oregon DECA. The coming year will be Sehaj third year as a DECA member. For both of the years Sehaj has been in DECA, he has qualified for ICDC in Anaheim and Atlanta. He had finaled at ICDC in 2017 for PHT, and is looking forward to competing at ICDC 2018 in Atlanta in QSRM.
Alongside DECA, Sehaj participates in a numerous amount of other extracurriculars. Currently, he serves as a leader in his Boy Scout troop and is the President of the HOSA club that is set up in his Health Careers class. Sehaj has been participating in MUN since freshman year, and plays tennis for Westview High School. Sehaj also gives back to his community by mentoring 5th grade students at the Oregon Health and Science University Primate Center, teaching the kids about various fields of science. This summer, Sehaj is also going to intern at OHSU on a research project with a mentor.
In the future, Sehaj looks to pursue medicine and hopefully obtain a MD. If that doesn’t go as planned, he looks to minor in business and work on his MBA in business school. Sehaj is highly interested in orthopedics and sports medicine.
DECA, to Sehaj, has really been an eye opening experience where he got to meet many new people and learn more about different fields of marketing. He hopes that the organization can do the same more many other members, and encourages them to take the leap and try it out!
Theo Lassen
Sprague High School
District II Vice President
Theo Lassen is a senior at Sprague High School and is honored to be serving as Oregon’s District 2 Vice President. Theo joined DECA as a freshman and competed at SCDC for the first time as a sophomore, where he got second in Hotel Lodging and Management Series. After competing at ICDC in Anaheim, California, Theo decided to run for state office to work toward engaging DECA members across the state.
In addition to DECA, Theo also actively participates in Sprague’s Environmental club, Spanish Club, Film Club, Youth and Government, and Spanish National Honors Society. He also participates on the varsity water polo, swimming, and tennis team. He hopes to attend New York University and double major in political science and business, and further his education by receiving his MBA and JD.
DECA has helped empower Theo’s life in phenomenal ways. Already self starter and motivated student, DECA has increased his confidence and motivated him to actively participate in the community. His decision to become a state officer was primarily driven by his desire to share the many benefits of DECA with students looking to learn new skills and gain self-empowerment.. Theo is excited to work with Chapters across District 2 and the state to empower students and motivate them to participate in this exciting program.
Philip Cary
North Medford High School
District III Vice President
Philip Cary is the 2018-2019 District 3 Vice President from North Medford High School. Philip also serves as the North Medford High School DECA President.
Philip has been in love with Oregon DECA since his freshman year, going to every conference and competition. His mom had been telling him about her experiences in DECA when she was in high school, and Philip is so grateful as she is the reason he originally joined. However the reasons he stayed were thanks to the experiences he was able to have thanks to this organization. The friends he has made are ones he couldn’t imagine life without. The things Philip has learned from the people within Oregon DECA have helped shape him into the person he is today.
It is with this position that Philip hopes to allow others to have similar experiences where they can look back and break a smile. He hope to utilize the skills he has and continue to learn in the world outside of high school. He is currently looking for a 4 year university to earn a degree in Business with a minor in both Economics and Spanish. His dream job is either to one day run the Marketing department of a major company, or to eventually open up his own advertising firm.
His dreams may continue to change; nevertheless wherever HE go or wherever HE may do, the skill set HE have gained from being a member of DECA will follow and assist me to adapt in this ever evolving world we live in.
2017-2018 Team
Brian Josephson
South Medford High School
State President
Brian Josephson is a senior at South Medford High School in Medford, Oregon. Brian joined DECA his freshman year after attending South Medford’s club showcase. Brian liked the idea of a student organization for business and marketing and he was eager to join. As a member, Brian joined his chapter’s leadership team. Leading his chapter gave him the confidence to run for the District Three Vice President in the 2016-2017 school year.
Brian has continued his growth in DECA by attending several local competitions where he gained the experience to win at SCDC. Brian attended ICDC 2017 competing in Restaurant Food Service Marketing. In the future, Brian hopes to attend the University of Chicago to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he hopes to further his education by studying for a Master of Public Policy and a Juris Doctor. Brian plans to become an attorney.
Brian has discovered that DECA offers many opportunities that help students like him to achieve the same career goals. Brian is excited to encourage other members of Oregon DECA to make the most of their opportunities as the President of Oregon DECA.
Akhila Kandaswamy
Westview High School
Vice President of Communications
Akhila Kandaswamy is honored to be serving as Oregon DECA’s Vice President of Communications and representing Westview High School as a senior. Akhila has been a DECA member since her freshman year, during which she placed 4th in Personal Finance Literacy. In 2016, Akhila qualified for and attended ICDC in Nashville. She also double qualified in FTDM and PFL for ICDC 2017 in Anaheim, CA.
Along with DECA, Akhila is active participant in many school organizations including Model United Nations where she has served as a committee chair, Speech and Debate, PAWS, and Amnesty International where she is the founder and president. Additionally, she is an avid volunteer at the Oregon Humane Society, Legacy hospitals, and the Oregon National Primate Research Center where she mentors fifth grade students.
Akhila has greatly benefited from her experiences as a DECA member and has been able to utilize them to work at a Portland, OR startup called Collexion. Along with this, Akhila has been able to work directly with corporate managers and directors at the Oregon Humane Society to increase outreach to youth through smartphone activities. Akhila hopes to further employ her DECA knowledge in the future by opening her own law firm or veterinary clinic.
Akhila is excited to serve and see what the year ahead has in store for the future of Oregon DECA and its members!
Trent Rabe
Henley High School
Vice President of Public Relations
As an incoming Junior at Henley High School, Trent Rabe is currently serving as the Vice President of Public Relations on the Oregon DECA State Officer Team. He is the youngest of the current officers, being a full year behind all of the others. Despite young age, Trent is a State Officer and has been a finalist at SCDC, as well as being awarded many ribbons at local competitions.
Trent is one of three officers from District III. He has plans to attend college after high school, though he is still undecided as to where. His hopes are to own his own Biomedical Engineering business, one that specializes in designing less intrusive and more efficient implants. The goal of this business will be to make implants more accessible for people who cannot undergo major surgery, such as small children and the elderly.
“DECA members all over the world have inspired me in ways that no one else could. I am the person that I am today because of DECA.” -Trent Rabe
Daniel Chen
Westview High School
District I Vice President
Daniel Chen is thrilled to be your District I Vice President as a senior at Westview High School. This is his second year as a member of Oregon DECA and is looking forward to his third. He qualified for ICDC 2016 in Nashville and was a double qualifier to ICDC 2017 in Anaheim.
In addition to DECA, Daniel is involved many other extracurriculars. He is the president of Westview’s HOSA and treasurer of the Japanese National Honors Society. He has participated in Speech and Debate, FIRST Robotics, and Oregon Model United Nations. Daniel is also a referee for the U.S. Soccer Federation and an active volunteer at Providence Hospital. Daniel would like to major in business or pre-medicine and hopes to attain an MBA or MD in the future.
Whether you are attending for the first year, or returning for your fourth, Daniel wants to make this year an enjoyable and memorable one. He believes DECA offers lifetime skills not taught in classes, and hopes more people come to understand that DECA is beyond a high school activity. Daniel envisions an Oregon DECA with members eager to become leaders and is excited to connect with every one of you.
Patrick Davis
Bend High School
District II Vice President
Patrick Davis is a senior at Bend Senior High School. Patrick has been an Oregon DECA member since his freshman year. From his first day as a member, Patrick set a goal to one day represent Oregon DECA as a state officer. He achieved his goal and is now serving his second term as a state officer. Patrick placed first in Fashion Promotion Plan at 2016’s SCDC and qualified to compete at ICDC 2016. Patrick was also a competitor at ICDC 2017 in Anaheim, California.
As well as being an active member in DECA, Patrick is also an active team player for Bend Senior’s sports programs. Patrick plays for the varsity football team, the wrestling team, and the baseball team throughout the school year. Prior to the election on the Oregon DECA State Officer team, Patrick served as his chapter’s Outreach Director.
When asked why he joined DECA and how he has contributed, Patrick’s response was: “I joined DECA because a girl I thought was cute was in it. However, after attending SCDC I fell in love with DECA. The organization has given me some great tools and experiences and I want to be able to share these opportunities with as many people as possible.” Patrick is thrilled to be the District II Vice President and can’t wait to share his experience with members across Oregon.
Dhrushil Patel
Henley High School
District III Vice President
Dhru Patel is thrilled to serve Oregon DECA as a two-time state officer. Dhru is a senior this year at Henley High School, and three year DECA member. In his first year, Dhru discovered his competitive edge at local competitions and never turned back. Dhru has had the honor of attending the Emerging Leader Summit, speaking at the Western Region Leadership Conference, facilitating workshops at the Oregon Leadership Institute and attending the International Career Development Conference twice, representing Oregon DECA as a competitor in Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making.
Along with DECA, Dhru participates in several extra-curricular activities and organizations. Dhru is one of the four presidents of Henley High Leadership and actively participates in Honor Society, HOSA, YEBW, NSHSS, and NASC. Dhru is college bound, where he plans to study for his MD and MBA degrees, to one day become an anesthesiologist.
When asked why he joined DECA and how he believes members are influenced by DECA, Dhru’s response was: “I took great interest in DECA as a freshman, because of the awesome trips and conference DECA members were able to attend. Who doesn’t want to spent a week in Orlando? I have chosen to dedicate myself to DECA because I believe DECA provides students with the opportunity to make lasting connections, develop as leaders, and train to become innovative leaders in their future professions.” Dhru Patel is ready to enhance every Oregon DECA member’s experience and lead Oregon DECA.
2016-2017 Team
Aroon Nagappan is currently a senior at Westview High School in Portland Oregon. This is his first year as a member of Oregon DECA and was a finalist in International Business Plan, as well as qualified for ICDC in STDM and FLPP. Aroon has been an active member after attending his first conference and is excited to be a leader for Oregon DECA.
In addition to DECA, Aroon is involved in other extra-circular activities as well as business. Aroon is a dedicated tennis player, and has placed 13th in state tennis competitions. Aroon also co founded a non-profit tutoring organization called Project Intellect. In addition, he is working with a team to create a technology that detects a concussion when it happens.
After high school, Aroon plans to attend college to receive an undergraduate degree before obtaining an MBA degree. His career goal is to become an entrepreneur and start his own business. Aroon believes, “With hard work and perseverance, anything is possible. If you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.” As your 2016-2017 Oregon DECA President, Aroon is excited to help the organization become the best it can be.
Dhru Patel
Vice President of Communications
Dhru Patel is ecstatic to represent Henley High School located in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Dhru is a junior this year, and has been a member of Oregon DECA for three years. In his first year, Dhru discovered his competitive edge at local competitions and never turned back. Dhru is very excited to be a leader for Oregon DECA this year.
Apart from Oregon DECA, Dhru participates in several extra-curricular activities. Dhru is the president of the Henley High School Junior Class and is an active participant in Honor Society, HOSA, YEBW, and tutors youth in math and science. Dhru is college bound, where he plans to study for his MD and MBA degrees, to one day become an anesthesiologist.
Dhru is dedicated to Oregon DECA because he believes DECA provides students with the opportunity to make lasting connections, develop as leaders, and train to become innovative leaders in their future professions. Dhrushil Patel is proud to be DECA EPIC and is ready to take Oregon DECA to the next level!
Sneha Malineni
Vice President of Public Relations
Sneha Malineni is excited to be Vice President of Public Relations and represent Westview High School as a senior. She was a double qualifier for ICDC 2015 in Orlando and a triple qualifier to ICDC Nashville, TN. She is a state champion in Professional Selling.
Along with DECA, Sneha is involved in many other extracurricular activities. She serves as the committee chair for Oregon Model United Nations. Sneha has also been an intern at the Oregon Tuberculosis Research Lab at Oregon Health & Science University for the last two years. Sneha is also involved in many musical activities, playing the piano for the last seven years.
In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis and spending time with her family. Sneha would like to major in economics or computer science. She also hopes to attain an MBA in the future. Sneha is excited to begin her adventure with Oregon DECA as the Vice President of Public Relations and can’t wait to meet members from all over Oregon!
Jonathan Castillo
District I Vice President
Jonathan Castillo is proud to represent Century High School and Oregon DECA during his senior year of high school. Jonathan has been a DECA member for three years and hopes to make this the year he travels to ICDC. Jonathan has placed twice at SCDC winning 3rd in Principles of Hospitality Tourism and again at districts winning 1st in Retail Merchandising Series.
Outside of DECA, Jonathan is involved in many organizations including Student Government, speech and debate. Jonathan has enjoyed attending conferences for the Oregon Association of Student Councils, and likes to make friends in every group he joins. Jonathan hopes to attend the University of Washington or the University of Oregon. He plans to study Computer Engineering and hopes of working for an innovative company such as Intel or Microsoft.
When asked what his favorite thing about DECA is, Jonathan would say: “you are able to create friendships through every school rather than just your own and create healthy competition between them.” Jonathan is very excited to help lead Oregon DECA to new heights this year.
Patrick Davis
District II Vice President
Patrick Davis is a junior at Bend Senior High School. Patrick has been an Oregon DECA member since his freshman year. From his first day as a member, Patrick set a goal to one day represent Oregon DECA as a state officer. He achieved his goal and has now set a new goal to represent Oregon DECA as a national officer during his Senior year of high school. Patrick placed first in Fashion Promotion Plan at 2016’s SCDC and qualified to compete at ICDC 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee.
As well as being an active member in DECA, Patrick is also an active team player for Bend Senior’s sports programs. Patrick plays for the varsity football team, the wrestling team, and the tennis team throughout the school year. Prior to the election on the Oregon DECA State Officer team, Patrick served as his chapter’s Outreach Director.
When asked why he joined DECA and how he has contributed, Patrick’s response was: “I joined DECA because a girl I thought was cute was in it. However, after attending SCDC I fell in love with DECA. The organization has given me some great tools and experiences and I want to be able to share these opportunities with as many people as possible.” Patrick is thrilled to be the District II Vice President and can’t wait to share his experience with members across Oregon.
Brian Josephson
District III Vice President
Brian Josephson, your District III Vice President, is a Junior at South Medford High School in Medford, Oregon. Brian joined DECA his freshman year after attending South Medford’s club showcase. Brian liked the idea of a student organization for business and marketing and he was eager to join. As a member, Brian joined his chapter’s leadership team. Leading his chapter gave him the confidence to run for state office.
Brian has continued his growth in DECA by attending several local competitions where he gained the experience to win at SCDC. Brian competed at ICDC in Nashville to compete in Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making with his partner, Rachael Lunnen. In the future, Brian hopes to attend the University of Oregon to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. After receiving his undergrad he hopes to further his education by studying for a Master of Business and a Juris Doctor. Brian plans to become an attorney.
Brian has discovered that DECA offers many opportunities that help students like him to achieve the same career goals. Brian is excited to encourage other members of Oregon DECA to make the most of their opportunities.
2015-2016 Team
Utsav Ghosh
State President
Utsav Ghosh attends Westview High School located in Portland, Oregon. He has been a DECA member for the past two years and qualified for ICDC both times. Utsav first became involved in DECA during his sophomore year when he took a marketing class at his school. After attending his first SCDC, Utsav knew he wanted to play a larger role in the organization while becoming a part of others’ DECA experiences.
In addition to DECA and academics, Utsav is in involved in numerous extra-curricular activities. He has lettered on Westview’s Swim team for the past three years and will continue this year. Utsav is involved in multiple musical activities and plays violin with Metropolitan Youth Symphony and is a member of Pacific Youth Choir. He is also a committee chair for Oregon Model United Nations and regularly volunteers at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
In his free time Utsav enjoys playing sports and videogames with friends. He plans to major in engineering and finance in college and hopes to attain an MBA in the future. As your President, Utsav looks forward to a great year for Oregon DECA and cannot wait to see how much is accomplished.
Sai Bandi
Vice President of Public Relations
Sai Bandi is excited to represent Westview High School in Portland, Oregon. This is in her second year in DECA, qualifying to ICDC in her first year as a sophomore. Sai was a double qualifier to ICDC to Atlanta, Georgia and a triple qualifier to ICDC 2015. She is a two-time State Champion in Human Resources Management.
Outside of DECA, Sai is very involved with many clubs and activities. She is an active member of her schools’ speech and debate team and recently qualified to nationals in Public Forum Debate. Sai serves on the state board for Oregon Model United Nations as an Undersecretary. Sai’s work experience involves being an intern at Non Governmental Organization working in North Korea. She also enjoys being involved in the community through her service on the Mayors Youth Advisory Board as well as volunteering with her schools’ National Honor Society.
Sai’s future goals include pursuing a career in the field of law. As Vice President Of Public Relations, Sai is looking forward to an exceptional year for Oregon DECA!
Matthew Rhine
District I Vice President
Matthew Rhine–Oregon DECA’s District One Vice President– is proud to represent Sabin-Schellenberg Center. This will be his third year being a part of DECA and he hopes this year will prove to be as amazing as his previous years. He will be going to the 2015 International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida, and will participate in the DECA Hotel Challenge with his partner Landon Rufener. Besides being a member of DECA, he is also has been the president of his school’s chess club for the past two years and participates in his school’s band program.
When he doesn’t have any schoolwork to do he spends his time playing golf and goofing off with his little sisters. He wants to go into Accounting or Finance and hopes to attend college somewhere in the west. One day he wants to own his own business. He is looking forward to the upcoming year as a state office.
When asked what he likes most about Oregon DECA he said “By far it’s the people. Oregon DECA has some of the best members; people who strive to be better than who they are, who want to win and have fun doing it.”
Brittney Kurpios
District II Vice President
District II Vice President, Brittney Kurpios hails from Sprague High School. She has been a member of DECA since her freshman year and has been very active in her chapter, serving as chapter officer her sophomore and junior year. As the District II Vice President, Brittney hopes to spread the knowledge of Oregon DECA and increase the percent of active participants within the District. After she graduates, Brittney hopes to attend Dartmouth College where she plans to pursue a MD-MBA degree. In the future, she plans to have a career as trauma surgeon and one day open her own clinic. During her free time, you can find Brittney reading a good book, spending time with her family, or exploring different places with her friends.
When asked about the benefits of being a member of Oregon DECA, Brittney replied “DECA provides a chance for you to burst out of your shell. It takes learning to whole new level, where you get to experience new places, meet amazing people, and have a fantastic experience outside of the classroom. DECA has helped me grow in many different ways and joining is the best decision that I have made. I would strongly encourage anyone to join and be a part of an amazing organization.”
Brin Rey
District III Vice President
Brin Rey, a student at Klamath Union High School, is your District III VP. She has been in DECA since she was a freshman, and served as her local chapter’s VP of Competition as a sophomore. After being very involved with her chapter and qualifying for ICDC, she knew that she wanted to serve this organization further and give back for some of the amazing opportunities DECA has allowed her. Brin is dedicated to her academics, and she is currently enrolled in the honors program at her school. As District III VP, she hopes to be a part in giving DECA members unforgettable memories and experiences.
Apart from DECA and school, Brin enjoys many other hobbies, such as gardening, reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends. After high school, she hopes to pursue a career in psychiatry.
As far as why she loves DECA so much, Brin says, “DECA has given me so many opportunities and fond memories, as well as helped me step out of my comfort zone. My high school experience wouldn’t be the same without this organization, and I’m so thankful that I could be part of it!”
2014-2015 Team
Cameron Alwes
Vice President of Communications
Cameron Alwes, Oregon DECA’s Vice President of Communications, is a junior at Bend Senior High School. He has been a DECA member for two years and is excited to be serving on the 2014-2015 State Officer Team! Prior to becoming a state officer, Cameron served as his chapter’s Social Director/Social Media Coordinator. Cameron has a passion for education and is enrolled in the rigorous International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and has a 4.2 GPA. At the 2014 Oregon DECA State Career Development Conference, Cameron placed first in Advertising and will be attending the 2014 International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to DECA, Cameron is a member of the cross-country team and qualified for districts, a three-year member of National Honor Society and the current Vice President, as well as a member of student council. Besides DECA and school-related activities, Cameron also has many other interests and is often up at Mt. Bachelor skiing with his friends and family in the winter or going camping and boating in the summer.
When asked about the benefits and opportunities of being a DECA member, Cameron said, “DECA not only integrates into classroom learning, but also takes education out of the classroom and into real-life situations, giving students invaluable skills and experiences that prepare them for careers in business and life in general. Joining DECA is one of the best decisions I have made and I strongly encourage all students to make the same decision.” Cameron is excited for what is to come as a State Officer and to serve Oregon DECA as Vice President of Communications.
Suvedha Ruppa
Vice President of Public Relations
Suvedha Ruppa is a junior at Westview High School in Portland, Oregon. After qualifying for ICDC last year and seeing firsthand how exceptional DECA was, she was inspired to serve this great organization. Currently in her third year in DECA, she hopes she can spread the experience of DECA to everyone willing to give it a try.
Outside of DECA, Suvedha is involved in various extracurriculars such as Student Government, National Honors Society, Junior State of America, Key Club and Amnesty International. She is also very passionate about helping out the community by volunteering with places like her local rec. center. Suvedha also loves to read, play the piano and spend time with her family and friends. Suvedha aspires to obtain an MBA one day and work somewhere in the field of business.
When looking at the year ahead she says, “I’m super excited to serve as your 2014-2015 VP of Public Relations and to help Oregon DECA grow as an organization!”
Landon Rufener
District I Vice President
Your District I Vice President is from the chapter of Sabin-Schellenberg Center. He joined DECA as a freshman and saw how amazing the organization was. After taking second place at the ICDC in Anaheim 2013, he was inspired to do more within Oregon DECA. He was elected to state office his third year in DECA as a junior in high school. As the District 1 Vice President, Landon hopes to see more people who know what Oregon DECA is, and what DECA does for preparing the world for its next group of leaders and successful entrepreneurs. While in college, Landon plans on getting his Associates Degree at the University of Oregon with a major in Marketing. During his free time, he likes to work on his classwork, hang out with his friends, and ride his bike. Landon also received the “True North” award being recognized at the North Clackamas School District board meeting. He has served as a chapter officer and loves his chapter more than anything else in the world. “I will make Oregon DECA a better place, and give our organization my full time commitment. Now lets make history!”
Sam Nelson
District II Vice President
Sam Nelson, a rising senior at Bend High School is the District II Vice President. He has been in DECA for two years and has qualified for ICDC each year. Sam is also pursuing an IB diploma. After he graduates, Sam hopes to go the college of Claremont McKenna, CalPoly, or Lehigh. In college, Sam wants to double major in entrepreneurship and mechanical engineering and then go on to obtain a MBA degree. When Sam is not engaged in school activities, he can be found surfing on the Oregon coast, mountain biking somewhere in Bend, skiing on Mt. Bachelor, caving wherever a cave can be found, rock climbing on Smith Rock, or just generally exploring the environment. Sam hopes to one day be addressed as, “Oh Grandmaster Businessman Nelson.” He recognizes that this is a lofty goal and attributes DECA to helping him get closer to this goal. Here’s what he has to say about the organization: “When it comes to the reward you get out of the effort, DECA stands above all other organizations. DECA teaches you applicable knowledge about business, increases you confidence and speaking skills, and creates memories that you won’t forget.”
Jennifer Pickerill
District III Vice President
District III Vice President, Jennifer Pickerill, attends Crater School of Business, Innovation and Science as a junior. She has been a member of DECA for two years, and is very active in her District and Chapter by helping plan many events, and keep contact with different chapters. Jennifer has attended YEBW, Emerging Educators conference, as well as many other conferences and is President of her school’s student government. She plays golf, knits, and paints in her spare time. She plans on attending Portland State and will pursue a degree in education. She loves working with people of all ages and hopes to pursue a career in helping people.
2013-2014 Team
Austin Damron
State President
Austin Damron is a junior at Springfield High School as well as the Oregon DECA State President for 2013-2014. After his first year in DECA as a sophomore, witnessing how amazing DECA is at the International Conference in Salt Lake, he knew he had to play a bigger part in the organization, and help contribute to its mission of preparing the world’s next group of leaders. Austin decided to run for State Office, and successfully reached his goal of becoming the Oregon DECA State President. Austin is a strong competitor in his events, placing top 3 both years at state as well as earning many medals for his role plays.
When Austin isn’t busy doing homework, or working to enhance Oregon DECA, he loves to spend time with family and friends, or learn new things. Outside of school and DECA Austin is very involved with leadership, student council, and his schools Children’s Miracle Network Pageant. He enjoys working with people, and accomplishing larger than life projects. Austin looks forward to seeing how much Oregon DECA and his team of officers can accomplish during their year in office!
Kaleb Vickstrom
Secretary/Treasurer
Your 2013-2014 Secretary/Treasurer, Kaleb Vickstrom is a Junior at Century High School. This is Kaleb’s third year as a member of DECA and will be his second year attending ICDC. While in DECA Kaleb has received an eighth place ranking in principles of marketing and a second place ranking in Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making. When asked about what he wants for the future of Oregon DECA Kaleb responded, “Oregon DECA is and has been on a good path for a long time now. However, something I want to see in the next year is a significant spike in our membership count. Though we have over thirteen hundred members already, I believe that there are still hundreds of potential members out there that don’t realize what all of the amazing things that DECA can do for them.” When it comes to college, Kaleb plans on attending Oregon State University in Corvallis. While in college he plans on majoring in Accounting while earning a minor in the Oregon State Entrepreneurship program. Kaleb hopes to maintain a 3.8 or higher GPA throughout high school and graduate with an honors diploma. Kaleb believes that, “There is a business side to every profession, and even if you don’t plan on working in business DECA can be extremely beneficial by extending your professional knowledge and teaching you a lot along the way.”
Kayla Daggett
Publicity Director
Kayla Daggett is Oregon DECA’s Publicity Director and she is a Junior from Cascade High School. She has been in DECA since she was a freshman for a grand total of three years in the organization and has loved every minute of it. Kayla was a chapter officer for two years before she ran for State Office.
Kayla plans to attend Linn Benton for two years after she graduates and then attend Concordia to study marketing. After college, Kayla aspires to work for Nike in the publicity department and work with all her favorite athletes including her basketball heroes, Lebron James and Michael Jordan.
“From day one DECA has changed my life in more ways than I could have imagined and it has formed me into the leader that I am today” says Daggett. Kayla’s interests outside of DECA include singing in her school’s choir, playing sports, watching Disney movies, as well as a champion Just Dance player.
Bailey Boaz
District II Vice President
Bailey Boaz, your District Two Vice President, is a sophomore at Cascade High School. As a DECA member, Bailey has placed in the Top 8 in his first year of DECA in the Principles of Hospitality and Tourism event. Bailey qualified to attend the 2012 International Career Development Conference in Principles of Hospitality and Tourism, and got the Award of Excellence for meeting all levels of criteria during the competition. Bailey will be attending the 2013 International Career Development Conference in the Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making Event, as well as LEADS. Bailey aspires to attend Harvard, the University of Oregon or Michigan State University. Bailey hopes to get his Law Degree so as to become a Lawyer, and eventually a Politician. Bailey says, “If you are unsure of whether or not you want to be a member, just do it, because DECA will change your life.”
Janelle Bond
District III Vice President
Janelle Bond is a sophomore at North Medford High School, where she currently maintains a 4.0 G.P.A, plays on the volleyball team, and is an Advanced Marketing student. She has been a DECA member for two years and in that time she has attended several District Skills competitions, OLI, traveled to Nike Headquarters, and visited the Rose Garden to speak with the marketing staff of the Portland Trailblazers. She was also a qualifier for ICDC 2012 in Salt Lake City, and a double qualifier for ICDC 2013 in Anaheim, California. Additionally she was named “Kiwanis Marketing Student of the Year”. All of these being memorable experiences that have only expanded her love for DECA.
Besides DECA, volunteering, academics and sports, another important aspect of Janelle’s life are her family and friends. She has a twin brother, Garrett, who she describes as “her other half”, and spends every Sunday night going out to family dinner. Whoever she’s with her main focus is putting a smile on everyone’s faces! Janelle’s also known for her sense of humor, outgoing personality, and impromptu raps. She says, “DECA has had a huge impact on my career choices and thoughts for the future! The organization has really opened my eyes to endless opportunities!” She’s excited to get work as your District Three Vice President, and to meet all of you and be a part of your DECA experience!
2012-2013 Team
Siddharth Moghe
State President
Siddharth Moghe is a junior at Westview High School located in Beaverton, Oregon. After joining DECA his sophomore year, he knew that he wanted to serve the organization and continue its outstanding legacy. His first experience at SCDC was inspiring and informative, and at this conference, Siddharth was a double qualifier to ICDC in Orlando, Florida. Siddharth was also a qualifier to ICDC 2012, and was able to compete in Salt Lake.
Throughout his academic life, Siddharth strives to find opportunities where he can apply himself as a leader. As the President and founder of Westview Business Club, he found ways to boost membership in his local chapter. Along with DECA, Siddharth is a committee chair for Oregon Model United Nations, as well as an active member of Westview’s speech and debate team. He also had the opportunity to compete in debate at the national level in Dallas, Texas in 2011. Siddharth also enjoys finding ways to stay involved in the local community, as he is a volunteer through his school’s National Honors Society chapter.
Each of these aspects in life makes him a unique and dedicated leader. Siddharth is looking forward to another great SCDC and will work to fulfill his goal of staying accessible and involved within the Oregon DECA community.
Arjun Kandaswamy
Secretary/Treasurer
Arjun Kandaswamy is a rising junior at Westview High School in Portland. He is currently in his second year of DECA qualifying to ICDC as a sophomore. In 2011, he was the state champion in Principles of Finance and was an International Semifinalist at ICDC. In 2012, he qualified to ICDC in two events and hopes to grow his business aptitude once again.
Arjun is widely involved at Westview and in his community. He has played on Westview’s Varsity Tennis Team for two years and will continue this year. He is a passionate member of his school’s speech and debate team and recently qualified for nationals in International Extemporaneous. As a volunteer in the community, Arjun mentors fifth graders in science at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. His extensive work experience includes positions as a Marketing Assistant at the Law Firm Perkins and Coie, and as a Lab Assistant at OHSU’s Department of Neurology.
Following his passion for business instilled in him by his priceless DECA experiences, Arjun hopes to major in Economics and pursue a career in International Business or Investment Banking. As your Secretary/Treasurer, Arjun is excited for another year of DECA and serving Oregon’s members!
Bodie Crist was elected the 2012-2013 Publicity Director for Oregon DECA. He is a junior in high school as well as a third year DECA member. Bodie loves speaking in front of large crowds and giving speeches to others. In the future, he aspires to become a lawyer so that he may put his talent to good use.
When Bodie first joined DECA, he did not know what to expect. Being a freshman, classes were hard enough. Fitting in extra-curricular activities like band, DECA and time to sleep would defiantly be a real challenge. It all panned out in the end. Bodie is now the lead quad-player in the school drumline, he serves as a DECA state officer, and he gets his required 8 hours of sleep. Outside of school and DECA, Bodie spends his weekends at Detroit Lake. Whether he’s boating in the summer or snowmobiling in the winter, a weekend at the cabin is always a good time.
Bodie is very excited to serve Oregon DECA this year. With dedication, leadership, and a good team, he knows that this can be one of the most successful years in the history of Oregon DECA. All we need to do is Aspire Higher.
Katie Divinets
District I Vice President
Katie Divinets is honored and excited to represent Oregon DECA as the 2012-2013 District I Vice President. She is ready to jump into the new leadership experiences DECA has to offer as a State Officer. She would like to thank the members of DECA for all their support, as well as her awesome Advisors and business teachers.
Katie became involved in DECA her freshman year while taking business classes at school. Her interest was always entrepreneurship and business in the fashion world. DECA has improved Katie’s leadership skills and given her an experience that motivated her to set higher goals for her future, as well as the future of Oregon DECA participants.
When Katie isn’t busy with school, she likes to enjoy her free time with her younger sisters. Katie loves to travel; she believes it lets her see the world from a different person’s perspective. Katie also loves socializing; she is friendly and finds people who are funny great company. She lives by the saying, “NOTHING is impossible…” Every goal she sets, she strives to achieve and give her best! She is ready to meet and serve as many members as possible in the year to come.
Victoria Libby
District II Vice President
Victoria Libby is a junior at Willamette High School and a second year DECA member. She is an active participant in many extra-curricular activities at Willamette including work as a Mr. Wolverine Head Coordinator, Junior Class president, a Transitions Crew leader, DECA member, and Willy’s school store general manager.
In her free time Victoria loves to go roller skating and has been a part of the Skate World Artistic Impressions team since she was three years old. She also loves to go on long motorcycle trips, bake with her friends, read, and listen to music. In her future Victoria wants to attend Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. She hopes to major in Marketing and minor in Communications. After graduating, Victoria’s dream job would be to either work for Nike, or the Children’s Miracle Network program.
When asked about all the things she does Victoria said, “I just love to stay busy. I’m the kind of person you won’t find sitting down for more than one hour at a time. My advisors at school have always pushed me to reach for the next level and that is a lesson I know I will carry on throughout my whole life. They are like my family outside of school and I highly respect what they say.” Victoria is honored to serve the coming year as your District II Vice President, and thanks you for the opportunity to work with Oregon DECA members and advisors.
Jing Xu
District III Vice President
Jing “Julie” Xu, a junior at Klamath Union High School, is honored to serve as your 2012-2013 District III Vice President. Jing has been a DECA member for three years and a local chapter officer for one. Throughout the years, she has attended district competitions, Western Region Leadership Conferences, State Career Development Conferences, and International Career Development Conferences.
Aside from DECA, Jing is also very involved in many other school activities. While taking honor placement classes, she is an active member in Associated Student Body, My Future, My Choice, National Honor Society, Girls Varsity Tennis Team, and she holds a part time job as a hostess at a local restaurant.
After a year of being a chapter officer, the VP of Competition, also know as “The Creator of Champions,” Jing has decided she wanted to expand her leadership horizon and ran for District III Vice President. She wants to share the real valuable life lessons that DECA offers with her fellow members. Jing wants to make an impact on DECA by recruiting members and turning ordinary students into extraordinary leaders.
2011-2012 Team
Saurabh Mahajan
State President
Saurabh Mahajan is a senior at Sprague High School, and has lived in Salem, Oregon his entire life. Hearing about DECA from his 8th grade marketing teacher, Saurabh decided to join Sprague’s reputable DECA chapter as a freshman, and is now in his 4th year as a member of Oregon DECA. Saurabh has been to both SCDC and ICDC twice, both being priceless experiences.
Throughout high school, Saurabh has remained actively involved in his school and community, and also in politics. While taking all advanced placement classes, Saurabh has been a longstanding member and captain in Sprague’s Speech and Debate Forensics team, is serving as the Youth Governor for Oregon YMCA’s Youth and Government program, serves as a Social Media Consultant for the Greater-Salem Area, has completed an internship with Governor John Kitzhaber’s campaign for office, and has also completed an internship for US Congressman Kurt Schrader of Oregon’s 5th Congressional District.
All of these different experiences have made Saurabh a stronger and more capable leader, while still leaving room to grow and develop as part of the state officer team for Oregon DECA. Saurabh is excited to serve Oregon DECA as president, and wants nothing more than a successful year to make Oregon DECA an even better organization than it already is, and looks forward to meeting all of the members and hearing from them on their experiences.
Aliyyah Howes
Secretary/Treasurer
Aliyyah Howes is a junior at Wilson High School in Portland. This is her third year in DECA, attending ICDC twice and her second year as her schools chapter fundraising officer. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends, watching political documentaries, trying different foods, and listening to or playing music. Aliyyah has been a highly academic person her whole life, and is in programs including the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, and the school districts accelerated academics program.
At ICDC in 2010, Aliyyah attended the Chapter Management Academy and the Leadership Academy, and learned many valuable lessons regarding leadership and fundraising. She attended the LEADS training program for state officers in 2011.
Aliyyah is planning to graduate from high school her junior year to help her challenge herself academically. In college, she plans on majoring in business or finance with a minor in sustainability.
T.J. Foltz was born on December 3, 1994 in Salem, Oregon. With five older sisters and no brothers, T.J. has never been at a loss of excitement and that is still true today. Right now in his junior year, T.J. is Oregon DECA’s Publicity Director, president of the Cascade Strategy Gaming Club, Vice Chair of the Aumsville Youth Council, on a high school level Robotics team, and a choir boy.
T.J. enjoys long walks (but not on beaches), dinners in the moonlight, and Oregon DECA. His oldest sister was once Cascade DECA’s chapter president and that is what made T.J. decide to give DECA a try. T.J.’s love for DECA was instantly ignited and he has been going above and beyond as an active member since. After his first year in DECA and his first SCDC he knew that he wanted one day to become a state officer. He became Cascade DECA’s Vice President of Finance at the end of his freshman year then in his sophomore year he ran to be Oregon DECA’s Publicity Director. His dream came true on March 8, 2011 at the Grand Awards Session where T.J. was announced your new Oregon DECA Publicity Director. He now works hard to make sure that Oregon DECA members have the best year yet.
Simone Smith
District I Vice President
Simone is honored to serve Oregon DECA as the 2011-2012 District I Vice President. She is a senior at
Woodrow Wilson High School located in Portland, Oregon. She is a three-year DECA member and also happens to be an identical triplet.
For Simone, school has always been important. She has been a staff member on her school newspaper for three years and is currently the Editor in Chief of Statesman, Wilson’s newspaper. Simone has been a delegate to the Oregon Model United Nations for four years, a member of the Rotary-sponsored Interact Club for four years, an Oregon Zoo volunteer for three years, a cross country runner for three years, National Honor Society member, and the membership coordinator for Wilson DECA.
In addition to participating in school activities, Simone enjoys traveling, watching Blazers games, reading, running, watching movies, and hanging out with friends. Simone always looks to find balance in her life and likes to make an effort of focusing on the quality of her work rather than the amount she takes on. In the future she hopes study international business and to receive an MBA degree. She also hopes to become fluent in Spanish and to be an exchange student.
After attending ICDC 2010 and ICDC 2011 to compete in the Hotel and Lodging Management Series, Simone gained valuable knowledge of DECA and is proud to represent Oregon. At ICDC
2010, she was an international Top Twenty Finalist and won a Top Ten medal for a role-play in the Hotel and Lodging Management Series. She is excited to be more involved with Oregon DECA and looks forward to meeting DECA members from around the state.
Emma Toohey
District II Vice President
Emma Toohey is a senior at Cascade High School. She played golf for Cascade her freshman and sophomore year and lettered in golf her freshman year which gave her second on her team both years. She now works part-time afterschool with one of DECA’s National Advisory Board members, Safeway. She loves to hang out with her family and friends. Emma’s favorite thing to do is meet new people. Joining DECA was the best choice Emma has ever made. It has helped her at work, school and everyday life.
Emma has been a DECA member for her entire high school career. Her freshmen year she was an active member and attended many of the DECA events. She went to SCDC for the first time where she learned what DECA is all about. Then she continued with DECA her sophomore year representing Cascade as the Vice President of Operations. Emma’s junior year she was elected Cascade’s chapter president. Emma loves DECA and everything it offers and many of her favorite moments were are with DECA.
Emma took what she learned from running for District II Vice President her sophomore year and applied it the next year as a candidate again. She successfully was elected District II Vice President and is very excited to represent Oregon DEC A her senior year.
Fallon Wallace
District III Vice President
Fallon Wallace was born in Northern California and moved to the Rogue Valley when she was only five years old. Now a junior at Crater high School, she is a student within the school of Business Innovation and Science. She has served on student council and involved in Interact club.
Family is a very large part of who Fallon is. She has twin older brothers and is the youngest of 27 grandchildren. Being a part of large family makes for a wide variety of experiences that has helped make Fallon who she is today.
Outdoors sports including golf, snowboarding, soccer, and running are just a few of activities she likes to do in her spare time. One special passion of Fallon’s is a sport all out its own: shopping. She also loves hanging out with friends. No matter what she is doing, she always trying to put a smile of every ones face.
Besides being involved in DECA, Fallon is very involved in her 4-H lamb Club and has participated in for the past seven years. She also serves on the 4-H Executive Board, Interstate exchange, and now a summer camp counselor.
This coming year is full of new adventures. Fallon will be hosting a foreign exchange student from Switzerland, will begin the search for colleges that she would like to attend, and will try to get her golf score down to 88. She is always looking forward the next challenge.
2010-2011 Team
Amanda Pomeroy
State President
Amanda Pomeroy is a senior in high school who enjoys spending time with her friends and family, shopping, soaking up the sunshine, and being involved in her school, church, and community. As Amanda lives her life she enjoys being a part of many different activities, such as counseling for Outdoor School, aiding in local church fundraisers, and teaching Sunday School.
Amanda has been a DECA member for three years and has been a local chapter officer for two. She has attended the State Career Development Conference three years where she competed in both written events and role-plays. Amanda’s experiences in DECA have helped her learn to be a stronger leader and team player as well as assisting in the development of her social and business skills.
Amanda enjoys learning as shown by her enrollment in advanced classes. She knows the value of keeping an open mind and always working to be the best you can be. Once Amanda graduates from high school, she plans to continue on to a private university and major in Biology with a minor or duel major in Business Administrations. Then, she plans on attending medical school and becoming a doctor. After graduation, Amanda aims to participate in missionary work abroad and at home as she works, and eventually, she would like to own her own practice.
Nic McDowell
Secretary/Treasurer
Nic McDowell is a senior attending Willamette High School located Eugene, Oregon. Nic is a very outgoing guy who tries to find fun in everything he does. He believes that if you are having fun with what you are doing everybody will be in a better mood and will be more productive. Nic loves sports and is involved in soccer and track through his school. Outside of school he loves to basketball with friends and through city leagues. Sports are a big part of Nic’s life.
Nic has been involved with many community service activities and in spring of 2010 held a community kickball marathon to break the current world record. He hopes this becomes an annual event in which he can donate the money generated to a charity. Nic also loves to travel and in August 2010 will travel to Taiwan. He also hopes to go on a mission trip to Africa this year. Nic plans to attend either the University of Oregon or a local community college to get his undergraduate degree and then transfer to earn a degree for teaching or engineering.
Although he is not planning on getting a business degree he still loves being involved with DECA. He has learned that DECA teaches you skills for any job, not just jobs involving business. Nic is excited to be the second in his family to serve as a state officer for Oregon DECA and is looking forward to meeting members this year as the Oregon DECA Secretary/Treasurer.
Cecilia De La Cruz
Publicity Director
From Ashland to Medford and Central Point, Cecilia De La Cruz was born and raised in Southern Oregon. As a Mexican-American, Cecilia adapted English as her second language and fully developed it in school. She loves school and enjoys learning new things. She believes education is an important factor in life and tries to help others when she sees them struggling and wanting to give up on school.
Cecilia is in an Advanced Placement English class, is in the Chess Guild, and is a board member in the National Honor Society. When not in school she volunteers at Kids Unlimited of Oregon, is playing soccer, or is working. She has maintained her part-time job at a retirement home as a Food Server for over a year now. Every Sunday Cecilia goes to church and serves as a lector once a month. She is also involved with the youth group at church. Cecilia also enjoys snowboarding.
Cecilia is currently a senior at Crater High School where she is a two-year DECA member and is excited to serve Oregon DECA members as Publicity Director this year.
Lauro Jimenez
District II Vice President
Lauro Jimenez, District II Vice President, was born in Puebla, Mexico, but moved to Woodburn, Oregon when he was still an infant. He attended school in Woodburn and became fluent in both English and Spanish. During his sophomore year, Lauro moved to Labelle, Florida and spent the year away from home. Lauro now attends the Wellness, Business and Sports School at the Woodburn High School Campus. Lauro likes to play basketball with his friends, play video games, catch all the latest sports highlights, and relax at home with his family.
At the beginning of his junior year, back from Florida, Lauro decided that he wanted to get more involved in school. Then, when in his business class his teacher, who was also the DECA advisor, told him about DECA. He decided he could not pass up this organization, and decided to join. Lauro, always interested in business, had a very good time attending chapter meetings and events and decided he wanted to get further involved in DECA. He attended a District II competition and was inspired to lead. This led him to decide that he wanted to become an Oregon DECA State Officer.
What Lauro brings to the state officer team is hard work, honesty, reliability and someone who wants to learn and pass on his knowledge to others. Lauro is honored to serve as District II Vice President and is excited to get started. Lauro’s plan for District II this year are to give back to our communities, and get more schools and students involved in DECA and ultimately have them all at SCDC. He believes every high school student should experience the great things DECA offers its members.
Katie Siharath
District III Vice President
Vilayphone (Vee-lie-pon) “Katie” Siharath, a senior at Phoenix High School, is honored to serve as the 2010-2011 District III Vice President. She enjoys speaking publically, debating, and hanging out with friends and family. Often, she goes by “Katie” (her middle name) or “V” and encourages members to call her whatever they’d like. She’s very outgoing, and loves to meet new people. In her spare time, you can find her playing guitar or out on another adventure.
Katie takes school very seriously, having had a GPA 4.0 since the 6th grade. Her ultimate goal for high school is to graduate as valedictorian. Throughout high school, she has been involved in Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Leadership, Key Club, National Forensics League (Speech and Debate), DECA, and regularly volunteers in the community, whether it be litter cleanup, tutoring, or helping homeless teens.
Katie is in her fourth year of DECA and is very excited to represent District III and to continue to carry the District III torch of excellence. She is also president of her DECA chapter, and has attended both ICDC 2009 and 2010. ICDC 2010 has impacted her life tremendously because of all the wonderful people she met and all they have taught her.
2009-2010 Team
Anne Marie Sketch
State President
Anne Marie Sketch, a senior at Taft High School, is a hard worker and dedicated to everything she does. At a young age, she showed an interest and desire to create a business, which is what lead her to DECA her freshman year. Throughout her career in DECA, Anne Marie has served as the Oregon DECA Publicity Director, competed in both series and written events at the state level and has attended many leadership conferences.
Aside from the vocational aspect that DECA has provided Anne Marie, she has also gained valuable life experiences from DECA, including confidence in herself, which has strengthened her leadership abilities and public speaking. The opportunity of traveling and meeting new people is something Anne Marie also enjoys. She has experienced the bright lights of big cities and met some of her closest friends in DECA.
Outside of DECA, Anne Marie is involved in multiple school and community activities, which include, ASB Secretary, Key Club, Interact, and STARS (Students Today Aren’t Ready for Sex). She is on both the cross country and track teams and runs whenever possible. Anne Marie enjoys challenging herself by taking advanced classes and learning as much as she can in all different subjects. She is also involved in both jazz band and symphonic bands at her school where she plays flute and trombone.
Although she is involved in many activities, Anne Marie enjoys spending time with her mom at their home in Lincoln City. After high school, Anne Marie plans to attend a four-year university and major in business administration and political science.
Anne Marie is especially excited to continue to serve as the 2009-2010 Oregon DECA State President. She is ready to meet as many members as she can and share her experiences in DECA with others.
Joel Waterman
Secretary/Treasurer
Joel Waterman is an outgoing guy who is always looking for an opportunity to excel in every aspect of life. He believes that if you want something then you must be willing to work hard to get it. Whether that means reaching across the finish line at a cross country meet, hitting a flawless shot in a round of golf, or staying up to unthinkable hours of the night studying for an exam! DECA has played a huge role in Joel’s life over the last year. It has opened his mind to new possibilities, new challenges and new people.
Joel is a junior at Waldport High School and is the student at arms for his class. His favorite class at school is his business class, because this class introduced him to DECA. In this class, Joel has learned many skills that are preparing him for a future career in business. His personal involvement in the business world started December 2008 when he opened up a weekly dance club in Waldport that featured concessions, Rock Band, dancing and various other games. This provides a service to his community and has started to generate a profit. Joel can honestly say that this could never have happened if it weren’t for the skills he learned from DECA and his business class.
Though this is only his first year in DECA, Joel feels confident in his ability to understand business and concentrate his efforts on making DECA have a successful 2009-2010. He plans to join the National Guard after high school and go through college during that time. After Joel is finished with his undergraduate education, he plans to either go into business or go to law school and become an attorney. Until then, Joel is looking forward to an awesome year for DECA and wants to meet as many people who are involved with DECA as possible!
Abbie Tornquist
Publicity Director
Abbie Tornquist, a freshman at Rex Putnam High School, was given an opportunity of a lifetime when she was elected Oregon DECA’s Publicity Director. She first heard of DECA through a friend and has strived to be a state officer ever since. Abbie has big plans for the future. .
To Abbie, family is one of the most important things in her life and she spends as much time with them as she can get. She also appreciates their support of her dreams and encouragement to achieve her goals. In her spare time, Abbie loves swimming, reading and hanging out with her friends. Abbie’s future goals include going to college, getting a degree in a science field and working towards a goal of curing or preventing cancer.
Abbie is super excited to serve as the 2009-2010 Oregon DECA Publicity Director and can’t wait to make things happen!
Ted Vixay
District I Vice President
“See the invisible, do the impossible.” – Howard “H” White
Howard White made an enormous impact on Ted Vixay’s life at the 2009 State Career Development Conference. From this experience, Ted learned to include everyone, it did not matter what skills they had or how good they were at their skills.
DECA has given Ted the confidence to interact with strangers. DECA has given him the unique knowledge of marketing. DECA has given Ted the opportunity of a lifetime when he was elected the 2009-2010 District I Vice President. During his year as a state officer, his main goal is to create a family-like bond throughout District I. Ted wants to have that personal connection with each and every DECA member in his district.
Born in Portland, Oregon and raised in Oregon City, Ted is living life to the fullest extent through his church. Being a strong Christian, he took his first missions trip during the spring break of 2008 to Oakland, California where he stayed and worked with City Teams Ministries, a nationally recognized homeless shelter that has been helping the homeless get back on their feet for more than 50 years.
In his spare time, you can find Ted playing the guitar, piano, drums, saxophone, trumpet, or oboe. He is very involved with his high school; he supports the band program, attends local concerts and has even danced with the school’s dance team. Ted also enjoys hanging with friends or playing videogames. Ted’s different skills and passions have allowed him to make that special bond with people quickly. However, of all these activities, his favorite activity would have to be DECA.
In the future Ted hopes to join a promotional marketing team for a business such a Nike, Adidas or Under Armour. He plans on enrolling at a top-of-the-line university to major in marketing.
Chris Hinds
District II Vice President
Some people are hard workers. Some people are easy to get along with. Some people would rather die trying than not try at all. Chris Hinds has each and every one of these qualities and is ready to apply them to his role as the 2009-2010 Oregon DECA District II Vice President.
Chris, like many people, has had to learn lessons the hard way. When he was three, he cut his finger off with a can opener. When Chris was five, he was unofficially diagnosed with brain cancer. When Chris was 11, he broke several fingers and his nose. When he was 14, he blew out his knee. And now, at 16, he is District II Vice President!
In 2007, something happened to Chris Hinds that would change his life forever. He was planning his schedule for his freshman year of high school when the advisor of DECA, Mr. Ilg, introduced himself to Chris. He started talking with Mr. Ilg about DECA and was so impressed that he decided to join DECA. Chris instantly engaged in the organization and has dreams of becoming an entrepreneur in the near future.
Now, more than two years later, Chris has become the District II Vice President. He is a successful sophomore at Central High School, a two-year letterman and starter for varsity baseball, president of International Club, and a 4.0 student. Chris is a busy man, but it is his involvement in Oregon DECA that comes in at number one.
Chris lives by the statement, “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” – Anonymous.
Kira Alexander
District III Vice President
Kira Alexander’s life is consumed with DECA. Finishing out her junior year at Klamath Union as the chapter president, she has learned to call the business room her home. Kira starts each week with a DECA meeting at 6:00 a.m. and finishes each day working away in the business room until they literally kick her. You would think this over achiever would have had enough; but for Kira, the sky’s the limit. Kira was recently elected the 2009-2010 Oregon DECA District III Vice President, and she couldn’t be more excited!
Kira is dedication extends to DECA’s competitive events program. She competed at the 2008 International Career Development Conference in the Business Services Marketing Series and will be competing again at the 2009 International Career Development Conference in Learn and Earn Project.
Though very involved in DECA, Kira does have interests outside of DECA. Kira has played soccer every fall, spring and even indoor in the winter since she was seven years old. She is currently the varsity goalie of her high school team but also enjoys playing in the field. Kira loves being challenged in school and is enrolled in honors and advanced classes. She also is employed at Safeway where she works as a courtesy clerk. Even with her busy schedule, Kira still finds time to spend with her friends.
Through this next year Kira hopes to meet as many members as possible to make this next year of Oregon DECA the best yet!
2008-2009 Team
Max Patterson
State President
As a goal driven leader, Max Patterson, doesn’t shy away from the hard work it takes to accomplish his goals but this doesn’t mean he is a stranger to fun either.
For Max, this combination of hard work and fun was evident at the early age of 10 with the start-up and success of his own lawn-mowing business during the week and a lemonade stand on the weekends. Max describes this experience as being “drawn towards the light of the business world.” His new found enjoyment led Max to hand-deliver hundreds of flyers throughout his neighborhood, strengthening his businesses client pool and driving him to reach the next level in the business world.
Max found his home with as an active member of the Klamath Union chapter. Here Max was involved with a variety of chapter projects ranging from book fairs to sports days and once again found fun and work blended well together for him in DECA. At the recommendation of a past state officer and the encouragement from his advisor, Nat Ellis, Max campaigned for and was elected to the position of District III Vice President.
As the District III Vice President, Max helped organize three competitions in District III as well as a training camp for beginning members and non-members alike. In addition to these events, Max was and still is a regular contributor to the statewide DECA newsletter, “The DECA Connection.”
After serving one year as the Oregon DECA District III Vice-President, Max Patterson is proud to be able to serve another year in office as your President for the 2008-2009 year. Having developed a workshop on effectively preparing for competitive events, Max would LOVE to visit as many chapters as possible over the next year to spread his love of DECA and useful insight into the competitive world.
Note from Max
Oregon DECA, this next year I would love to meet as many of you as possible. I believe that my success while in office is directly proportional to the success of Oregon DECA’s members and I feel that by hearing from the people we can run this organization like a republic, by the people for the people.
Jessica Hogan
Secretary/Treasurer
Jessica Hogan is a senior at Sabin Center-Rex Putnam High School that has been transformed through her involvement in DECA. She has gone from a shy girl who was scared to talk to anyone to a confident young woman preparing for college. With the encouragement of great advisors Jessica joined DECA as a freshman and now her advisors can’t get her to stop talking about DECA. This passion for DECA led her to serve her junior year as the chapter president to one of the largest chapters in the state.
Jessica was born in Portland, Oregon and has lived in the Portland area her whole life.
Family is very important to Jessica and she spends much of her free time with them and appreciates their continued support. Having fun with her chapter, playing soccer and the piano are also things Jessica likes to do and has been doing for years.
Jessica’s future goals include attending an Oregon college to get a degree in business where she can learn the skills necessary to fulfill her dream that started in seventh grade to own and operate her own business. She says that DECA has changed her into the person she has always wanted to be but did not think possible.
Anne Marie Sketch
Publicity Director
Anne Marie Sketch is an avid runner who enjoys challenging classes and being involved in anything and everything at her school. A junior at Taft High School, she loves running and has spent the last two years training before and after school for both the cross-country and track teams.
During the school day she excels in her challenging classes, loves learning, and can be found participating and holding leadership positions in Key Club, ASB, Interact, which is a youth version of Rotary that focuses on community service, and serving as a STARS’s (Student Today Aren’t Ready for Sex) teen leader.
Music is also a big part of Anne Marie’s life. She has been playing the flute for six years and has over four years experience with the trombone. She enjoys playing in the high school jazz and pep bands at school games.
Although Anne Marie is involved in many things at her school, DECA is her #1 priority. Through DECA she has seen tremendous growth within herself. She has learned how to become a great leader, found a passion for business, and works hard to believe in and achieve her dreams. DECA has taught her that anything is possible if you just believe in yourself. In fact, this belief in self, found through DECA, has become her personal motto and she enjoys sharing her DECA experiences with others.
Anne Marie was born and raised in Lincoln City where she and her parents often spend quality family time together. And although she is from a small town, she enjoys traveling and hopes to live in a big city after getting her degree in Business Administration from a top-notch four-year university.
Anne Marie is excited to serve as your 2008-2009 Oregon State Publicity Director and looks forward to helping you believe and achieve your dreams.
David Hong
District I Vice President
David Hong is an outgoing music enthusiast that seeks to be informed and involved in the many aspects of his community, politics and world affairs. A Korean American, born in Hillsboro, Oregon to Haesook and Yoonsik Hong, he is the eldest son in a family of four. His favorite color is green and his favorite meal is tofu stew.
David is currently a senior at Rex Putnam High School and an active member of the Sabin Center chapter. He fills his time with numerous extracurricular activities such as; Key Club, Model UN, the Rex Putnam Symphony and volunteering as an outdoor school counselor at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. When he gets time off he can be found playing tennis, fishing with friends, watching a good movie, or playing Starcraft.
But he can play more than just video games – he has been playing the piano for over 10 years and his favorite classical composers include: Beethoven and Claude Debussy. However, his most admired composer is Frederick Chopin. David Hong is a person that enjoys music. He enjoys classical, rock, rap/hip-hop, jazz, techno, and listens to most anything else, with the exception to country.
However, of all these activities DECA is his favorite. He is a three year member who last year served as the Vice President of Competition for the Sabin Center chapter and is quick to let you know that his most favorite teachers at school are his DECA advisors.
David hopes to become a stockbroker, trading on the floors of the New York Stock Exchange, and plans on attending either University of Oregon or Stanford University for undergraduate studies and then on to New York University for a post-bachelor degree.
Amanda McLean
District III Vice President
Amanda McLean, is a girl with a love for friendships and a knack for enjoying life. She describes herself as a typical teenage girl who plays tennis, loves to be with friends, enjoys shopping and can almost always be found having fun. However, for those who know Amanda, she is anything but typical. Her bright and friendly personality makes her a key candidate for leadership in DECA because she can always be found interacting with and serving all different types of people.
Amanda, a senior at Klamath Union High School, was born and raised in Klamath Falls, Oregon and although she is technically an only child you wouldn’t guess it because she is happy to be surrounded by two step sisters and two half brothers. Amanda loves having a big family and she particularly loves spending time with her dad.
When it comes to DECA, Amanda is no stranger to hard work and leadership. As an active member of KU DECA for three years she has served in a variety of roles and responsibilities. Last year she served as the Vice President of Finance for her chapter, taking care of all accounting needs for the management class.
As an accountant in the making she really appreciated her time as the Vice President of Finance and says she learned a lot about different accounting methods. This experience has sparked her interest in furthering her accounting knowledge and after graduation she plans on majoring in Business and Accounting at Oregon State University.
Amanda is all about making the most out of her high school years and can’t wait to see what life has in store for her.
2007-2008 Team
Chris Meek
State President
Chris was born in Fontana, California. He is the third eldest out of six children and loves to spend time with family. Although heavily involved in sports and extracurricular programs, Chris always enjoys the opportunity to tuck his siblings into bed, and watch movies with his older brothers.
He is currently a senior at Lebanon High School, and is planning to attend a four-year university. In college he hopes to major in math and business. His plans are to one day become either a math teacher or a State Accountant.
Chris has served as the Vice President in his local DECA chapter for two years and has attended the last three State Career Development Conferences, two Western Region Leadership Conferences and the International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida. He looks forward to many more DECA conferences and opportunities to meet DECA members.
With his part time job at Subway on the weekends and school, sports and DECA during the week, Chris has very little time to relax, but with the support of church and family Chris has been able to move mountains.
One of the greatest tasks Chris has completed is the introduction and development of Junior Tennis, a program designed for those of all ages. Since the age of 10 Chris has been playing tennis, now he teaches it to students and adults during the summer time.
If Chris were to look back through his life, his two greatest accomplishments would be the smiles of the children he has taught tennis, and the opportunity to serve DECA as Oregon DECA’s State President.
Anna Kostjushko
Secretary/Treasurer
Your state secretary/treasurer, Anna Kostjushko, was born in Tallinn, Estonia – which is a European country near Finland. Anna lived there until she turned five when her parents decided to move to Portland, Oregon where she currently resides. At home, Anna enjoys speaking Russian with her family and spending time with her little sister, Sandra.
Anna is a member of Sabin Center DECA and will be a junior at Milwaukie High School. Anna has always been very involved in DECA since her freshman year. She has attended most of her chapter trips including state both years, ICDC and WRLC. And of course, her favorite class is marketing. One of her favorite things to do is play sports. Anna loves to play soccer and especially tennis. She has been on the Milwaukie girls’ tennis team since her sophomore year.
Anna also likes to hang out with all of her friends by going to the movies, shopping or just being in their company. She loves being with people and dislikes being alone for any long time. Another one of Anna’s favorite things to do is travel. She loves going on vacation and observing the different lifestyles of other cultures. To relax, she loves listening to all different types of music.
Anna’s future goals are to attend college in California and get a job working in the field of business and marketing. In DECA, Anna’s goals are to increase communication and visit many DECA chapters to increase membership and advertise the great things DECA has to offer. She also hopes to visit Estonia and see all of her distant family since she has not been back since she has left.
Kenzie Place
District I Vice President
Kenzie Place, your district I vice president, is a senior at Lake Oswego High School. Her drive as a state officer is to expand DECA into local businesses while educating them on DECA’s purpose and significance. She has participated in DECA for two years and strives to recruit not only DECA members but also business partners. She has competed in Travel and Tourism, Sports Marketing, E-commerce, and the International Business Plan written event. Kenzie is also very involved in running the student store at Lake Oswego, “Joes Boathouse.”
During Kenzie’s free time she enjoys playing varsity lacrosse for the Lakers, shopping, eating, going to the movies, scuba diving, sailing, traveling and being with her friends. At school she is enrolled in eight classes as well as participating in Junior Statesmen of America, Laker Crew, National Charity League and Scholars Alliance. She lives with her mother and father, Sharon and Bill, and grandma, Georgette. Her older brother is away at college but still finds time to mentor and participate in her active life. She attributes much or her success to her parents active support and involvement in all she does. Kenzie hopes to attend college on the east coast and pursue either stock broking or advertising as a future career.
She is very excited for this year and is proud to serve on an amazing team made up of creative, fun, confident and hardworking state officers. She has full confidence that this team is accomplishing great things for Oregon DECA! Again, Kenzie thanks everyone for electing her into the District I Vice-President and giving her the opportunity to experience something so amazing.
Katie Thoma
District II Vice President
Katie Thoma is from Lebanon were she is a senior at Lebanon High School. She has lived in the mid Willamette valley her whole life. Although she is from a small town, Katie enjoys spending time in big cities and hopes to one day live in New York. She loves to make her friends laugh and always has interesting stories to tell.
Katie brings a wealth of DECA experience to her position as District II Vice President. She has been a member since her sophomore year, attended over ten DECA conferences, served as a Lebanon chapter officer and represented Oregon as an international competitor at ICDC. From experiences such as these, Katie has learned just how life changing DECA can be and strives to create such experiences for the members here in Oregon.
Katie is no stranger to team work. She has been a member of her varsity cheerleading squad, served as a STARS district and team leader, worked as an outdoor school team counselor, and served as a member of both the technical and cast crews for drama productions at her school . These opportunities have helped to create an understanding of what a team really is and what it means to work together. She is also involved in her high school choir and active in her church community. She enjoys being with her family and friends, shopping, and volunteering at a local middle school.
After graduation, Katie plans on attending a four year university to major in business administration with a focus on marketing. She plans on using her major to further her career in marketing management. She hopes to one day be an influential member of a marketing firm, and hopefully one day own and operate her own firm.
Katie is looking forward to working with Oregon DECA and meeting the members that make this such an amazing organization.
Max Patterson
District II Vice President
Max Patterson is extremely proud to have the opportunity to serve as your 2007-2008 Oregon DECA District III Vice-President.
Throughout his life he has always aspired to own his own business and work to better his community. At the age of eight, Max was well on his way to becoming an entrepreneur. He was very busy working in his neighborhood mowing lawns and doing other various yard-jobs for community members.
Max is currently a sophomore at Klamath Union High School and will be a junior in the fall. Max has been highly involved with his DECA chapter since his freshman year and often helps with local projects that his chapter conducts. Recently he took part in a book fair sponsored by his DECA chapter promoting literacy in his community. Other DECA related activities he has been affiliated with include volunteering at a local children’s sports day, gathering donation items for a DECA raffle, and helping run a company picnic in the summer.
Apart from working in his community, Max is also incredibly involved in his school. For the past two years he has been a member of his Associated Student Body, more commonly known as ASB. He also maintains honor-roll status in his many advanced and honors classes. This year he is enrolled in algebra II, honors english, spanish II, marketing and chemistry. For his upcoming junior year he plans to take pre-calculus, spanish III, management, as well as zoology/botany, and honors english.
He also plans to visit and interact with many chapters throughout the state and his district. He is focusing particularly on assisting to re-establish at least one chapter in his district. Max is very excited to be involved in the incredible association of DECA and is looking forward to fulfilling his duties and responsibilities as a state officer.
2006-2007 Team
Michele Cumpston
Secretary/Treasurer
Michele Cumpston, your Oregon DECA Secretary / Treasurer, is a junior at Clackamas High School. She attends a second year marketing and management class at the Sabin Center, where she is a third year DECA member. Michele gained a deep passion for DECA early on as she attended DECA-related events and even ICDC. This was her second year attending ICDC where she competed in the apparel and accessories management level event.
Outside of DECA, Michele is also involved in many other extracurricular activities. She is a second year active member of National Honors Society and a first year member of Key Club. Michele enjoys giving her time back to the community, doing volunteer work for both organizations, as well as with the youth group of her church.
Michele is employed year-round at a Golf Course where she works as a salesperson in the pro shop, is a starter, and handles payroll. On occasion, she also assists in the restaurant’s bar and grill. Ironically, however Michele is not a golfer.
Very involved academically, Michele is enrolled in several honors and advanced classes. She especially enjoys her marketing class, of course, and is a forth year Spanish student. Michele maintains a high GPA and has been inducted in to both National Honor Role and Who’s Who Among American High School Students. She looks forward to graduating and pursuing her interests in both law and business at Stanford University.
Michele enjoys spending time with her friends and family. Her favorite activities include: shopping, volleyball, running, watching movies, listening to music, playing pool, bowling, and dancing. She also loves to travel and sightsee with her parents Rob and Karen and their German Shepard, Cosmo.
Michele is eager to serve Oregon DECA as Secretary / Treasurer. She looks forward to seeing all of you succeed and helping Oregon DECA to have another excellent and exciting year.
Nico Casarez
Publicity Director
Nico Casarez, your state Publicity Director this year comes from Cascade High School and is a fourth year member of DECA. In his chapter he has served as, chairmen of the annual holiday art and craft show which benefits Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, as well as competitions vice president of the chapter. Nico is a dedicated employee of Cascade’s student store and avid supporter of local DECA chapter involvement.
Outside of DECA, Nico is involved in Student Council, serving as Cascade’s new ASB Vice President and as a member of Model United Nations, Link Crew and Choir. At the age of eight, he established a very successful sno-cone stand that was even licensed through his local city. It was this through this experience that he had come to understand not only what it takes to run a business, but it also laid the ground work for both his passion to work with people, as well as serving as a leader.
Nico’s family has always been there for him and he attributes his success to their love and support. Nico describes himself as charismatic, loud, outrageous, and from time to time hilarious who always strives to get the job done. He loves to listen to classic rock music, hanging out with friends, being active within his church and will stop at nothing to put a smile on your face.
Nico has a strong, fiery passion for politics which he hopes to establish as a strong career. His experience meeting and working with state legislators, as well as top government officials has further motivated him to work towards this goal and career.
Nico is excited about the upcoming year because of the excellent group of motivated members to serve and a great officer team beside him. He can’t wait to come together, make it happen, and build Oregon DECA tradition of excellence.
Kara Williams
District I VP
Kara Williams was born in Portland, Oregon and has lived in Lake Oswego her whole life. Her family consists of five members including her two older brothers, and parents. Her father works as an accountant for a construction company and her mother works for Younglife. Kara’s eldest brother is in his third year of college at the University of Oregon and her other brother is finishing up his senior year of high school. All of her family has attended the University of Oregon and she hopes to carry on the tradition and become a fighting duck.
Kara is a junior at Lake Oswego high school this year and is a goalie for her state champion lacrosse team. She has been a member for four years, enjoys traveling and playing with her Lacrosse team. In Kara’s spare time she also is very involved in Younglife and her church. Kara is a Younglife student leader and participates actively in her area’s club. At school Kara has been a class officer as well as a class senator. She is a store manager for her schools student store and is involved in her schools Hip-Hop club, Zoo club, and Art club.
Outside of school Kara enjoys being a teenager. Rarely does she have a spare moment to experience the wonders of high school, but when she does, she loves to shop, and hang out with her friends as much as any other teenage girl. Kara also has an extreme passion for music. She is open to any type and believes that music is tangible passion. Traveling is another hobby of Kara’s and loves to be as close to the sun as possible. Her plans for the future include attending the University of Oregon and majoring in business, and receiving a minor in sports marketing.
To all of Oregon DECA Kara thanks you for electing her as your District I Vice President, she is looking forward to a great, fun filled year.
Karissa McDowell
District II VP
Your District II Vice President, Karissa McDowell comes from Willamette High School and would like to say thank you to Oregon DECA for giving her this opportunity to serve. DECA is such a huge part of her life, and she is very excited to be more involved.
Karissa has been in DECA since her freshman year. In 2004 she attended Nationals in Anaheim. The hard work to get there and the excitement of winning was something she will always treasure. Karissa’s transition because of DECA has gone from a shy and quiet little freshman, to a vibrant, professional and personable senior who can’t wait to see what the marketing world has in store for her.
Outside of DECA, she is also very involved in her school and community. She is active in her church and says “without God in my life I would never be where I am at today. He has blessed me with so much, and I am extremely thankful for every bit of it.”
Karissa has played soccer since kindergarten and currently plays year round for Willamette High School. Soccer is a lot of hard work and conditioning, but in the end just being able to step onto a field and play the game is incredible to her. She also coached a boy’s soccer team last spring and is involved in LINK, a club dedicated to helping freshman through their first year of high school, and the National Honor Society.
DECA has helped shape Karissa into a person with an insight to the business world and even assisted her in earning a job as a high school intern at Washington Mutual Bank. It is Karissa’s hope that everyone across our great state can become more involved in DECA and find new ways to learn and grow from the many opportunities that surround us.
Matt Bogatay
District III VP
Matt Bogatay is your Oregon DECA 2006-2007 District III Vice President. He comes from the great city of Klamath Falls and is a junior attending Klamath Union High School. Matt is excited to be working with Oregon DECA throughout this year.
Matt is particularly known for his interest in entrepreneurship and seeking out new business opportunities. He is known for taking ideas and skills and turning them into a competitive business. At the age of 14 Matt had an ambition to start his own business, which within a short period of time he turned into reality. At this time Matt’s business is located online at www.paintballsupply.us. Matt has an extensive list of tasks to make the company grow successfully in the future. With his love and passion for his business he plans to be online to serve clients for years to come. This past yearMatt wrote a 30-page e-commerce manual on PaintballSupply.us that he took to Dallas, Texas for Nationals!
Matt has grown and come to the realization of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in the business world today he contributes the opportunity to apply his abilities and entrepreneurship knowledge in DECA. He has said that “the primary way that he came to starting his own business was because of an immediate impact that his marketing business classes and DECA gave him.”
Over the past three years Matt has attended many DECA events including Western Region Leadership Conference, State Career Development Conference, New York Experience, and ICDC. Matt’s overall experience in these has been tremendous as he has built a range of knowledge because of his attendance at such conferences.
Matt hopes to be accessible for every chapter and DECA member. He is available and would be more than happy to visit your chapter for any DECA events.
2005-2006 Team
Curtis Haley
President
Contrary to popular belief held by everyone from my friends to my family to everyday people who meet me on the street, DECA is not the only thing going on in the life of Curtis Haley.
If you name an extracurricular activity offered by Willamette High School, I’m probably involved in it. I’m currently the ASB Vice President, an active second-year member of NHS, a State Champion in both Debate and FBLA, the guy who reads the Daily Announcements over the PA system, an avid Wolverine sports fan, back-up sports announcer for the basketball team, and a writer for both www.beaverfootball.com and the 20Below section of the Register-Guard.
I also have high aspirations for the future: I wish to become the ASB President of Willamette High School this year, along with attending either Stanford University of the University of Michigan .My ultimate goal is to become involved in the politically world, as a Senator or even President.
I believe that the most important thing in life is helping yourself and those in need with your natural abilities and aptitude. Through DECA and Leadership class, I’ve organized several activities to benefit needy children in the United States and Belarus. But most of all, I want to continue developing as a human being. I am looking forward to using this position to meet new people, inspire them and give them opportunities to excel while growing in the process.
My first DECA Advisor, Bill Compton, once gave me a quote: “Choice is the rudder that guides our destiny”. I hope to be the rudder that guides us all to safe ports.
Stefanie Schmidt
Secretary
Hello fellow DECA members and advisors! My name is Stefanie Schmidt. I am a third year DECA member from Sprague High School and for the remainder of this year and up until SCDC of next year I am your Oregon DECA Secretary/Treasurer. For the past seventeen years of my life I have lived in Salem and the surrounding areas with my wonderful family.
I started out my freshman year at Silverton High School before transferring to Sprague, where I joined, DECA, Speech and Debate and YMCA’s Youth and Government program. For the past three years I have heavily participated in all and also served on leadership for all. I have attended ICDC for the past three years, last year placing in the Top 20 in Entrepreneurship Written, and this year taking 1 st in Entrepreneurship Written with my two partners Zach Herbel and Nick Gower.
I look forward to further success not only for myself but also for the State of Oregon throughout my term as your Oregon DECA Secretary/Treasurer. We have a great team of officers this year who are eager to serve your needs. Thank you Oregon DECA for making me your own!
Katelyn Fethers
Publicity Director
Hello Oregon DECA, my name is Katelyn Fethers and I am your State Publicity Director. I am a junior at Lake Oswego High School and on the State Champion girl’s lacrosse team. I also play soccer, kite surf, and enjoy traveling. I am on Lake Oswego Youth Council, which aids the city through youth opinion. I have learned a lot about fundamental government through this, but I am looking to major in commerce or international business with an emphasis on tourism and languages in college.
Prior to living in Lake Oswego, I moved around a lot, living in places like Australia, New Zealand, England, and Switzerland, where I learned French. Languages and business are my passions. I have been involved in LOHS’ marketing department since ninth grade, am active in my DECA chapter, and have attended ICDC twice. I hope to fully envelop my position on state office and be available for every chapter.
Caitlin Farney
District I VP
Hey Everyone! I am your District Once Vice-President. I have been involved in DECA and marketing since I was a freshman. Being a junior now, I most definitely can say it has been one of the best moves of my High School career. I love DECA, which is something that hopefully over the year, will become obvious. DECA has given me the opportunity to learn what the world of business requires to become a great leader. I hope over the next year I will be privileged enough to meet other students as passionate for this organization as I am. Where else are you trained to be the future “wow’s” of the world of business?
I am active in other parts of my high school as well. Being from a small town, Hermiston, Oregon, you learn to do or die. I am involved in Speech and Debate, Drama, and spend as much of my free time as possible going to rock shows; rock is passion to a beat.
I hope to grow up and become a business professional starting in leadership training, work in advertising involving graphic design, and eventually start my own business.
I thank you all for being involved in DECA and preparing yourself for the wonderful world of business. You won’t regret it.
Jennifer Hylton
District II VP
Hi my name is Jennifer Hylton. I am currently a resident of Salem, Oregon. I am a sophomore at Cascade Senior High School and will be turning 17 on September 26. I am actively involved in DECA and FCA. I am a member of the American Red Cross Youth Council, Habitat for Humanity and Salem Interfaith Hospitality Network. I am also a Varsity Cheerleader, for the third year, and am a JV/V tennis player. For leisure I am a golfer. I was on the school team last year but learned I am much more aggressive on the tennis courts. I attend First Presbyterian Church Salem, Oregon and am a strong believer in Christ.
My family includes John and Julie Hylton and my dog Beauty. I am the current Miss Sparkle America Oregon and planned on attending the national pageant, but due to the low number of state winner entries the pageant will be postponed. One random fact, I was born in San Antonio, Texas and am the biggest University of Texas fan. Ask anyone and I will guarantee they will say,” Yup, she’s going to college there and plans to surround her life around their sports teams!”